Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta (Cockerell)

Leijs, Remko, Batley, Michael & Hogendoorn, Katja, 2017, The genus Amegilla (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Anthophorini) in Australia: A revision of the subgenera Notomegilla and Zonamegilla, ZooKeys 653, pp. 79-140 : 109-110

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta (Cockerell) Figs 6, 28, 41

Anthophora asserta Cockerell, 1926, p. 224.

Amegilla asserta (Cockerell) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta (Cockerell) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Anthophora perasserta assertiella Rayment, 1947, p. 63, n. syn.

Amegilla assertiella (Rayment) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Anthophora longmani Rayment, 1947, p. 21, n. syn.

Amegilla longmani (Rayment) Michener, 1965, p. 217.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) longmani (Rayment) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Anthophora perasserta Rayment, 1947, p. 62, n. syn.

Amegilla perasserta (Rayment) Michener, 1965, p. 217.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) perasserta (Rayment) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Anthophora perpulchra Rayment, 1947, p. 64, n. syn.

Amegilla perpulchra (Rayment) Michener, 1965, p. 217.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) perpulchra (Rayment) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Anthophora whiteleyella Rayment, 1947, p. 72, n. syn.

Amegilla whiteleyella (Rayment) Michener, 1965, p. 217.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) whiteleyella (Rayment) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Material examined.

253 females and 215 males.

Type data.

Holotype of asserta : male, Lower Ferntree Gully, 22.1.1916, VIC, MV, T-11865.

Lectotype of assertiella : male, Cooranbong, NSW, 20 May 1939, ANIC 32-034245, here designated.

Syntype of longmani : male, Bribie Is., Queensland, “allotype”, ANIC 32-034572.

Syntypes of perasserta : male, female, Clermont, QLD, K.K. Spence, AM K.105230, K.105227; male, female, Edungalba, Qld, 5 Nov. 1940, ANIC 32-033329, 32-033332; 2 males and female, White Swamp, NSW, ANIC 32-033341, 32-034566, 32-033514; female, Magnetic Is., Qld, ANIC 32-034078; male, Orroroo, SA, 1 Mar. 1940, “J.T.G.23”, ANIC 32-033362; female, Gatton, QLD, N.C. Lloyd, 20 Dec. 1937, ASCU; female, Glen Innes, NSW, 20 Mar. 1914, ASCU.

Syntypes of perpulchra : male, female, Mittagong, NSW, 2 Feb. 1940, “TYPE” and “Allotype”, ANIC 32-034564; female, Port Hacking, NSW, T.G Campbell, 30-31 Jan. 1925, AM K.55811; female, Port Hacking, NSW, T.G Campbell, 12 Mar. 1927, AM K.60206; female, Bendermeer, NSW, D.A. Porter, 28 Feb. 1926, AM K.53522; male, Sydney, NSW, C. Gibbons, AM K.48991; female, Brisbane, QLD, AM K.15779; male, female, Robertson, NSW, 9 Mar. 1940, ANIC 32-034309, 32-034533; 2 males, Edungalba, Qld,, 2 Nov. 1940, "No E30", ANIC 32-034314,5; male, Gosford, NSW, 10 Mar. 1940, “103”, ANIC, 32-034323; female, Ingham, Qld, 27 Dec. 1940, "EEA 2", ANIC 32-034321; female, Cooper Park, Sydney, NSW, "No 18 NS", ANIC 32-034301; female, Lismore, NSW, Mrs Higgison, 10 Jan. 1934, ASCU; female, Glen Innes, NSW, 20 Mar. 1914, ASCU; female, Liverpool, NSW, 30 Mar. 1909, ASCU.

Holotype of whiteleyella (Rayment, 1947) (by presumed monotypy), male, Macquarie River, NSW, Nov. 1935, ANIC 32-033369.

Decisions for synonymy.

Examination of the above type material revealed no morphological differences.

Diagnosis.

Amegilla asserta is distinguished from other Australian Zonamegilla species by a combination of the following characters: Face marks yellow; tergal hair bands pale blue. Hind tibia of females with long dark basitibial streak; T5 with dense medial patch of pale hair including a central line extending into prepygidial fimbra (Fig. 28). Posterior margin of S5 of males with a distinct patch of branched hairs; S7 with a narrow medial ridge (Fig. 41).

Redescription.

Female: Sydney Botanical gardens, 33.850S 151.200E, NSW, 31 Mar 2003, M. Bell, DNA voucher RB081 (RL490), SAMA 32-002567.

Length 13 mm; forewing length 9 mm.

Structure. Head: clypeus protuberant, in profile 0.4 × width of eye; galea in repose reaching half-way between coxa of fore and mid legs; length of f1 3 × length of f2, 0.8 × length of scape (excluding basal bulb) and 1.7 × length of f10; length of f3-9 0.9 × width; IOD 1.3 × OOD; OS 0.7 × OOD. Coloration. Pale yellow-yellow marks on labrum, mandibles, scape, clypeus, paraocular and supraclypeal areas; inverted T-shape on clypeus. Pubescence. Head: labrum white, remaining areas predominantly pale brown with scattered black robust hairs on clypeus, paraocular areas, between antennae, near ocelli and on vertex; gena white, pale orange towards vertex. Thorax: scutum dark ginger intermixed with black hairs; pleura ginger with scattered black hairs under wing base, white ventrally; thoracic sterna white; propodeum laterally pale ginger with scattered black hairs. Legs: forefemur posteriorly with long white hair, outer surface of tibia and tarsus with white hair, inner surface of tarsus brown; mid legs dark, with whitish hair on apex of femur, posteriorly on proximal third of femur, on outer surface of tibia and forming a small basal patch posteriorly on basitarsus; hind legs black, except white hair on apex of femur and outer surface of tibia; basitibial streak black, 0.7 × length of femur. Metasoma: apical hair bands on T1-T4 white with metallic blue iridescence; T5 laterally with long white hairs intermixed with short hairs, fimbria dark, medial patch as in Fig. 28; S3, S4 dark, except posterolateral patches of white hair; S5 dark brown, laterally with small white patches. Punctation. Head: clypeus with close, medium sized, shallow punctures, 0.2-1.0 puncture widths apart; labrum somewhat shiny, with close, small, shallow punctures, 1.0-2.0 puncture widths apart. Thorax: scutum shiny, with close punctures, 0.2-0.8 puncture widths apart. Metasoma: T1-T5 with close to open punctures, 0.5-2.0 puncture widths apart.

Male: S. of Coen, 14.0424S 143.19888E, Qld, R. Leijs & M. Batley, DNA voucher RB277 (RL777), SAMA 32-002572.

Length 11 mm; forewing length 8 mm.

Structure. Head: shortest distance between eyes 0.7 length of eye; clypeus protuberant, in profile 0.5 width of eye; galea in repose almost reaching mid coxa; length of f1 2 × length of f2, 0.7 × length of scape (excluding basal bulb) and 1.1 × length of f12; length of f3-10 1.3 × width; IOD 1.2 × OOD; OS 0.6 × OOD. Wings: length of marginal cell 0.8 × distance from apex of marginal cell to wing tip; length of vein M of hind wing 2 times as long as second abscissa of M+Cu; length of jugal lobe about 0.3 × length of vannal lobe. Metasoma: apicomedial emargination of S5 narrow; S7 windows medium size, half circular; S7 median hair brush 3 × as long as wide; S7 lateral wings of median hair brush well developed an angle of ≥90° between them (Fig. 41); S8 apical emargination shallow. Pubescence. Head: labrum white, remaining areas predominantly pale brown with scattered black robust hairs on clypeus, paraocular areas, between antennae, near ocelli and on vertex; gena white, pale orange towards vertex. Thorax: scutum brown intermixed with black hairs; pleura brown with scattered black hairs under wing base, white ventrally; propodeum laterally brown with scattered black hairs. Legs: forefemur posteriorly with long white hairs, outer surface of tibia and tarsus with pale brown hairs, inner surface of tarsus brown; mid legs dark, except pale yellow hairs on the apex of the femur, posteriorly on proximal one third of femur and on outer surface of tibia and basitarsus; hind legs black, except pale yellow hairs on apex of femur and outer surface of tibia. Metasoma: apical hair bands on T1-T5 white with metallic blue iridescence; T6, T7 black when viewed from behind, light brown when viewed from the side; S2-S5 dark with white apicolateral patches. Punctation. Head: clypeus punctures 1.0-3.0 puncture widths apart; labrum with small, shallow punctures 0.5-1.5 puncture widths apart. Thorax: scutum somewhat shiny, with close medium, shallow punctures 0.5-1.0 puncture widths apart. Metasoma: T1-T5 shiny, with open small, shallow punctures, 1.0-2.5 puncture widths apart.

Variation.

The black areas on the clypeus of males are consistently narrow, usually 4 or 5 times as long as wide, but occasionally the length is only 2.5 times the width. The colour of the tergal bands in both sexes usually displays distinct blue iridescence and appears to be less susceptible to the effects of aging than in species like pulchra . The scutal hair of both sexes is usually distinctly ginger in appearance. The colour of the flagellum varies in both sexes from dull orange-brown to dark brown on the ventral surface and from dark brown to black on the dorsal surface. Very rarely, the length of the dark streak in the hair of the hind tibia of females is 0.5 × the length of the tibia.

Remarks.

Amegilla asserta superficially resembles thorogoodi and indistincta , but females may be distinguished by the longer hind basitibial streak the hair pattern on T5 (Fig. 28). Males may be distinguished from both species by the patch of branched hairs on S5 and from indistincta by the shape of S7 (Fig. 41).

Phenology.

Amegilla asserta is one of the most common and widespread species along the eastern seaboard, reaching from the tip of Cape York into South Australia. In the south of the continent, the species is active between November and April, with a peak in January. In the north, Amegilla asserta can be found year round, albeit at lower frequencies in July, August and September.

Distribution.

From Eyre Peninsula and the Lofty Ranges in South Australia, Tasmania, and the temperate areas of Victoria and New South Wales to subtropical and tropical areas along the east coast of Queensland (Fig. 6).